


Blind Impressions

by nagemeikenu



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Blind!Remus Lupin, Engineer!Sirius Black, First Meetings, Historian!Remus Lupin, M/M, Nice Peter Pettigrew, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Professor AU, Severus Snape Bashing, St. Andrews University, Wolfstar Games 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27926527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagemeikenu/pseuds/nagemeikenu
Summary: Sirius is looking for advice on his latest design from a fashion historian at the university he now works at. Not all goes to plan, thanks to Dr. Severus Snape, the chemistry professor. Hijinks ensue, not all of them romantic because he has to pay Snape back…In spades.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 5
Kudos: 52
Collections: Wolfstar Games 2020





	Blind Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> This work is part of the Wolfstar Games for 2020! Much love to my beta, purplechimera8, who helped me finagle the ending and made me feel better about the fic I wrote. I was on Team Sound. My prompt was Image 1, the braille alphabet.  
>   
> Hope you all enjoy!

Sirius had his plans under one arm and a campus directory in his other hand. A Dr. Remus Lupin, fashion historian, worked here and was therefore the handiest person to look over his latest design. He’d never met the man, but supposedly he’d know how to at least start in the historical realm of things. Before technology had advanced, people managed quite phenomenal feats that were then forgotten when technology got better. Sirius considered that a damn shame, because those techniques could be used to make the technology they had now even better. He was confident in his initial idea, but he wasn’t arrogant enough to assume he could simply design something for an entire group of people he wasn’t a part of. The people he’d lived with had simply loved that arrogance out of him. Well, the Potters were a unique family, one that could use love to do just about anything. He knew just how unique that was, and smiled as he poked into the building to his left.

Immediately he knew he’d made a wrong turn, and frowned at the campus directory’s map. This was clearly a building dedicated to the sciences, not that he minded. This would be his milieu, so to speak. The new Engineering program was the one that had recruited him, and would be housed, according to Professor Dumbledore, with the mathematics and science buildings until they were able to build an engineering building on the Eden campus. Well, it was good he found this building, but he’d rather hoped to be in the Modern History building.

“Lost, are you?” Sirius glanced up to the source of the voice. Walking up to him was a very slim man with almost wet looking chin-length black hair. Perhaps if he hadn’t also been dressed in all black, it wouldn’t have looked so comical.

“A bit, yes. I’m looking for the Modern History building. Lucky I found this, though. I’ll be working here.”

“Working...here?” Sirius found the voice to be quite smarmy now. He could see the wrinkled nose, narrowed eyes; they spelled disdain to him.

“Yes, I’m an associate professor now. I’m Sirius Black. Engineering,” Sirius put the directory into his other hand and stuck out his now free hand to shake.

“Ah,” the man stated. “I am Dr. Severus Snape. Chemistry.” Sirius found the man’s hand dry and weak, but said nothing of it. It would be best to be somewhat friendly, seeing as he’d see the man around.

“Well met,” Sirius tried for a smile. “I am looking for Dr. Remus Lupin at the moment, would you know him?”

“I would,” Dr. Snape inclined his head as if to say he was superior for knowing this Dr. Lupin. Sirius decided he simply did not like Dr. Snape, and resolved to avoid him whenever possible. “The man has an interesting way of doing his research. Don’t be alarmed if he doesn’t look at you; I find him quite...eccentric, I suppose. Why are you seeking him out? Does he know you’re meeting him?”

“I’ve designs I’d like his opinions on,” Sirius gestured to the rolls of paper under his left arm. “I didn’t call ahead, but if he’s in his office…”

“He likely is,” Dr. Snape told him. “I hope you’re not too disappointed by the input he has. Unfortunately, he isn’t much of a team player.”

“How so?” Sirius frowned.

“Well, I’ve worked with him...or tried. He wasn’t helpful whatsoever.”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate.” Sirius tried to fight back the rising nerves in his belly.

“If you’re set on seeing him, you’ll need to get to The Scores…”

He listened attentively to the directions, managed a friendly “Thanks, bye” and went on his merry way. Well, he went on his now  _ anxious _ way, but he’d deal with that as he went along.

Naturally, the Modern History building was on the far side of campus. He’d gotten quite turned around, as it happened, and it took quite a bit of time to get to the smaller building. When he did get there, he could smell the ocean so keenly he wondered if he’d find it if he walked another few hundred meters. As it was, he filed away that thought for after meeting Dr. Lupin; he was far too eager to get the information he needed. After talking with Dr. Snape, who seemed far too formal and too willing to speak badly of someone, he’d mostly convinced himself that all would be well.

He’d found the office well enough, but it seemed no one was there. How could anyone work with the lights off? With a heavy sigh, he turned to leave.

“Hullo,” a shorter, rounder man nodded to him. “Looking for someone?”

“Yes,” Sirius told him, “I’m looking for Dr. Lupin for some input on designs...doesn’t look like he’s in, though.”

“Oh, he is, you’ve got the right door.” The immense cheer from the stranger made the nerves settle. “He’s just settling in for the start of the semester; he’ll be happy to help! Any distraction from looking over syllabi is more than welcome.”

“Ah, excellent! Thank you, er...?” Sirius squinted at the opposite door’s sign.

“Dr. Pettigrew, but please, call me Peter.”

“I’m Sirius Black, I haven’t got a doctorate.” Sirius chuckled.

“Oh, are you a student or an invited lecturer?”

“Invited,” Sirius told him, “I’m helping with the new Engineering department.”

“Lovely,” Peter beamed at him. “I’ve always thought we needed more people with practical experience instead of just people who spend their lives in school.”

“I appreciate that,” Sirius said, touched. “I hoped I wouldn’t run into too many snobs who think I can’t do anything just because I’ve  _ only _ got my undergrad degree.”

“You’ll find that around, I’m afraid,” Peter winced. “I do hope there aren’t too many, though. Their arrogance makes them miss valuable insight most of the time as it is.”

“Well, I find that arrogance can be found anywhere and everywhere. I can handle arrogance.” Sirius knocked on Dr. Lupin’s door, and hoped he’d have an excuse to talk with Peter again. He seemed like a genuinely kind person, and after Snape, he’d needed someone on this campus to be friendly.

“Good!” Peter smiled again, boyish and sweet. “If you ever need a friend to talk to over tea, I’ve always got biscuits and an open ear.” He gestured to his office door, and waved as he slipped inside. Sirius, now thoroughly cheered and slightly reeling from the disparate interactions he’d had today, heard a soft “Come in” from the door. He managed to open it and strode in with a cheerful greeting. He was met with an unusual sight that made him rethink his opinion on Dr. Severus Snape. Just a little bit, as he still seemed like an arse, but the word  _ eccentric _ seemed to fit this Dr. Remus Lupin very well.

There was no monitor, no light on, and the man was sat at a desk with a typewriter on it. Dr. Lupin was also wearing sunglasses. Sirius found a light switch on the wall and flipped it.

“Hello,” Dr. Lupin said, not moving his head.

“Hi, sorry. I’m Sirius Black, from the Engineering department. I’ve been working on a design for a sewing machine that someone blind could use. Would you mind looking over what I’ve got so far?”

“A sewing machine for the blind? That’s a fascinating project. Let me just clear off my desk--” Dr. Lupin simply picked up a neat, thick stack of paper and set them in a drawer. Sirius was amazed that he hadn’t turned his head at all to do so, hadn’t needed to check where his typewriter was to set it at the back edge of the desk. He simply had to marvel at the innate grace with which the man moved, and considering that the man was gorgeous, he had to marvel anyway. Soft, deep blond hair curled gently around the man’s head. Dr. Remus Lupin had a thin face with a sharp jaw, and his cheekbones looked like they could slice a man in half from a metre away. Perhaps someone else would have looked far too thin, far too sharp, but Sirius wasn’t someone else. He was a gay man prone to falling in love at first sight. This was far more intense than his other loves were, but luckily he knew how to land on his feet. So, finally, Sirius unrolled the latest draft of his design on the desk.

“So, I think I can make it fairly intuitive for someone who can’t see, but I was thinking that maybe historical sewing machines would--”

“Sorry,” Dr. Lupin interrupted, “I don’t think I can help you.”

“What?”

“I’m afraid I cannot help you.” Dr. Lupin lifted his hands from the plan and the paper sprang back into its cylinder shape. The words Dr. Snape had used flew back into his mind:  _ I hope you’re not too disappointed by the input he has...not much of a team player...eccentric, I suppose… _

“Why?” Sirius could feel his stomach flip and his heart rate pick back up.

“I lack the ability required.” The words were clipped and cold.

“You...lack the ability?” Sirius decided he’d forgo manners. “I find that difficult to believe.”

“I find that you have miscalculated my ability. I’d like you to leave.”

“I see that I should have listened to Dr. Snape--he warned me about you. You want me to leave? Fine by me,” Sirius snapped, and stormed away without a backwards glance. He saw the door to Peter’s office slightly ajar, and found a new target for his embarrassment and anger. Peter had said he’d help,  _ what kind of bullshit _ \--

“Hullo,” Peter said, and immediately dropped the smile when he saw the look on Sirius’ face. “It seems that did not go well…”

“It did  _ not _ ,” Sirius spat. “He said he  _ lacked the ability to help. _ I think he just didn’t want to.”

“Well, I think there may have been a misunder--”

“How could you misunderstand something you refuse to look at?” Sirius gaped at the other man, who had started looking at him quizzically.

“Were you aware that Dr. Lupin is blind?”

“What?” Sirius blinked. “I think Dr. Snape would have mentioned  _ that _ …”

“Dr. Snape?” Peter looked as if he’d swallowed sludge. “Perhaps you ought to tell me what  _ he _ said about Dr. Lupin.”

Sirius sat in the chair opposite Peter, and told him about the entire fiasco that had just occurred. At the end of it, Peter covered his face with his hands. Sirius tried to decipher the emotion, but it just seemed like he’d gone completely red.

“I...I do apologize, mate, but…” Peter sounded out of breath, almost like he was…

“Are you _ laughing at me _ ?” Sirius very nearly began shouting.

“Not...not at  _ you _ , precisely…” Peter finally removed his hands from his face and there were tears in Peter’s eyes. “It’s the situation.” The man leaned back and wheezed from the laughter.

“It’s not funny.” Sirius glared at him.

“It is a bit,” Peter corrected him, “at least, once you have context.”  
“Context?”

“Remus...Dr. Lupin, that is...he’s  _ blind _ .” Peter gulped. Sirius felt all the anger drain out of him, just like the blood that was leaving his face.

“He’s blind? That wasn’t something you just made up? Dr. Snape didn’t--”

“Yes.” Peter wiped his eyes. “I’m afraid Dr. Snape sent you in completely unaware.”

“Yes, yes he did.” Sirius said the words slowly, and the whiplash of his afternoon finally hit him. “Shit.”

“I thought so.” The sound of Dr. Lupin’s voice jolted Sirius.

“Yes, Remus, I’m afraid the new hire was tricked.”

“I did suspect foul play when you mentioned our dear colleague,” Dr. Lupin stepped into the room, holding a white cane that was tapping in front in precise beats.

“Yes, it does explain everything.” Peter smiled indulgently at Sirius, who was shocked into silence. “You’re quite new, so you won’t have heard that Dr. Severus Snape is a complete and utter git.”

“You would, however, have the insight to believe it when we tell you he is a complete and utter git.” Remus added.

“I was halfway there after a conversation with him,” Sirius muttered.

“We may well consider you a genius, then,” Dr. Lupin said dryly.

“You wouldn’t be the first ones,” Sirius smirked.

“Such modesty.” Peter wheezed with more laughter.

“We salute your humility,” Remus inclined his head with a grin. Sirius finally gave in to the ridiculousness of the entire situation and laughed until his sides ached. Peter got mugs and a kettle from one of his desk drawers and made tea for the three of them while Sirius laughed and Remus found the other chair to sit in.

“I’ve got biscuits, hang on.” Peter unearthed a small tin of what looked like plain shortbread.

“Lovely,” Remus held out his hand.

“Thanks,” Sirius said, still a bit breathless. Once he took a bite, he had to admit this was one of the best shortbreads he’d ever had. They weren’t plain, they were lemon, and the sharpness mixed with the soft texture was fantastic. Peter had excellent taste in biscuits.

“Sure,” Peter said happily. “I don’t think there’s a better way to make a friend than over a misunderstanding.”

“I made a friend when he filled my bed with black beans,” Sirius reminisced.

“See,” Peter nodded emphatically. “There you are.”

“That sounds like a story,” Dr. Lupin bit into his biscuit.

“It is,” Sirius said. “I was sent to a stuffy boarding school in Edinburgh. I didn’t want to be there, really, so I was possibly as much of a git as our own Severus is.”

“Were you?” Peter sounded disbelieving.

“Yes,” Sirius confirmed with a self-deprecating laugh. “I was snarky, obstinate, and determined to be expelled within a month.”

“A month?”

“I was ambitious, Dr. Lupin.”

“Remus,” he said with a smile.

“Remus. In any case, I was a right terror for my roommate. He took matters into his own hands and filled my bed with cooked black beans from the dining hall.”

“How did he get that to the room?” Remus asked.

“He has refused to tell me.” Sirius chuckled. “James has never wanted to reveal his secrets, said it would make me too powerful.”

“And that’s how you befriended him, then?” Peter looked delighted.

“Yeah, I had to admire the sheer audacity and cleverness it took to get the bloody things in my bed without even a whisper from him. After that, I stopped being a complete terror. When I did cause chaos, I had a partner in crime. There’s no one like James Potter to make chaos happen out of nowhere when it was lurking in the shadows for ages.”

“James Potter?” Peter tilted his head.

“Yes, he’s my best mate.” Sirius confirmed.

“He’s married to a good friend of ours.” Remus told him.

“You know Lily?” Sirius couldn’t believe it.

“Yes, we were doing our graduate studies at the same university. We met in a cafe and became coffee-addict study buddies. She carried on about how this Engineering tosser would keep asking her out.”

“James was gone for her the moment he laid eyes on her.” Sirius grinned. “He called me nearly every weekend and just raved about Lily Evans and how perfect she was.”

“Did he?” Peter took another shortbread.

“He did,” Sirius bit into the shortbread again and made a happy hum.

“They’re delicious biscuits, Peter.” Remus said, finishing his.

“Thank you!” Peter beamed.

“Did you make them, then?” Sirius grinned.

“I did; the recipe’s from the nineteenth century. I have a particular fondness for it.”

“You’re brilliant,” Sirius decided. “I’m never getting my tea anywhere else.”

“That’s the best of compliments,” Peter preened.

“Careful, now, Peter,” Remus sipped his tea, “you’ll never be rid of him now.”

“Certainly not,” Sirius grinned. “And he’ll be grateful for it.”

The three men dissolved into laughter, and Sirius felt like he’d do just fine if it weren’t for that dull, comically formal chemistry professor.

“I’m recruiting you two,” he said aloud.

“Recruiting us?” Peter drank his tea. “That sounds exciting.”

“What are we being recruited to do?” Remus asked with a raised brow.

“Revenge,” Sirius said. “I want to get that git back.”

“Really, I don’t think that’s necessary.” Peter looked a bit troubled.

“I don’t want to do anything drastic, Peter.” Sirius smiled. “Just something that would annoy him thoroughly.”

“Well, I can’t imagine what would annoy him more than you telling him we are working together and having quite the time of it.” Remus sipped. “I’ll need you to make the design raised on the paper so I can feel it. Once you do, I’ll be happy to help in any way I can.”

“That,” Sirius pointed at Remus, “that is exactly what I’ll do.”

“Excellent! Wonderful idea, Remus.” Peter toasted the blind man cheerfully. “Not even a single black bean needed to get involved.”

“Well,” Sirius thought about it, and grinned. “I do have one way to really make sure he stays away from me, and it does involve black beans.”

“No,” Remus said quickly. “Dammit, Peter, now you’ve done it.”

“No, no,” Sirius held up a hand. “Hear me out--”

“Oh, dear,” Peter fretted. “We’ll need more tea if there’s more plotting to be done.”

“I’m not helping plot something that involves black beans.” Remus said firmly.

“I’ve already got a plot,” Sirius said patiently.

“Well, I’ll put the kettle on anyway.” Peter went to get more water from the fountain.

“You’d best not tell me the plot or I’ll be an accomplice.” Remus drank.

“I need you to be an accomplice anyway,” Sirius told him.

“No,” Remus said flatly. “I’m helping with your design and that will piss off old Snivly quite enough.”

“I’m not asking you to do anything illegal, really.”

“I’ve said  _ no _ .”

“I just need a bit of guidance,” Sirius couldn’t quite stop the laughter.

“Guidance?” Remus sounded as if Sirius was a particularly troublesome toddler.

“Yes.” Sirius sipped his tea again. If Peter was going to go to the trouble of making a fresh cuppa for him, he may as well drink the first one. “I’m quite fond of black beans, but I don’t know the area well. Could you tell me where the closest Aldi’s is?”

“I can’t convince you that whatever you’re planning is likely childish and unnecessary?” Remus sighed.

“I’m convinced of that completely, Remus.” Sirius told him earnestly.

“You’re still going to do it.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that at this point in time. In any case, if I told you whether I was going to or not, you’d be involved, which is what you don’t want.”

“True,” Remus drank again. “But I can hardly let you feel welcome without knowing where a local grocery is, can I?”

“I would agree there,” Sirius said happily. “I could just google it, of course, but this is how one makes friends and conversation.”

“Naturally,” Remus agreed, and gave him directions to the nearest Aldi’s.

*

He didn’t often have the opportunity to make ground coffee out of black beans, but really it was a simple enough process. The trouble was that powdered black beans didn’t look like coffee until an enterprising someone added quite a lot of cocoa powder and one small spoonful of activated charcoal powder. Really, he was going for a dreadful taste, and that was going to be accomplished beautifully. He’d read that activated charcoal could render birth control and other medications useless, but Severus would only be drinking a tiny bit. The charcoal was for colour, and he was making an entire tin of it for the sake of convenience. He calculated that per cup, there would be less than one milligram of the charcoal in it. That wouldn’t inhibit any medication whatsoever, and as Severus would be spitting it out immediately, Sirius wasn’t worried.

The tin of “coffee” was in his pocket, and it would go in his office along with the coffeemaker in the box with the rest of his office supplies. If he didn’t have coffee to help him work, no work was going to be done. There was also a small jar of dried black beans in the box, but that was more to sell Severus on the idea. He was feeling jovial. Seeing as he was able to print his sewing machine design raised so that Remus could feel it, that was cause enough. The cherry on top would be the “coffee” thank-you.

Soon enough, he’d gotten to his office with his box. There was the desk he’d sent for, as well as the filing cabinet, bookshelf, couch, and office chair. Naturally, they weren’t where he wanted them, but he hadn’t expected that. He cheerfully manoeuvred the desk and chair in the back left, left the couch where it was against the wall, and slid the filing cabinet to the left side of the desk for easy access. He put the coffee maker on top of the filing cabinet, plugged it in. He then went to prepare making the “coffee”, but got distracted arranging the bookshelf.

He was quite busy arranging his books on the bottom shelf, knowing the top two would be for his designs, when there was a knock on his door. He popped up, saw the oh-so-esteemed Dr. Severus Snape.

“Hello, Dr. Snape.” Sirius stood and smiled at him. “It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?”

“I find cloudy days unremarkable myself, but it isn’t raining,” Dr. Snape raised a brow at him.

“I was more thinking about my first classes starting this afternoon,” Sirius said cheerfully, “but I’ll be useless to them without coffee. Would you like a cup? I’ve got plenty ground fresh this morning.” Trying not to look too eager, he plucked the tin off his desk and opened the lid to the coffee maker.

“Ah,” Dr. Snape said, “I’d appreciate a cup of coffee, thank you. You’re eager to teach, then?”

“I am,” Sirius grinned. “I think I’ll quite enjoy hearing what the students think. Discussions were always my favorite part of classes.”

“I have always found that teaching is more about giving knowledge rather than letting students think they have it already.” Sirius had to bite back a  _ Why are you such an absolute git about it? _ He managed to simply scoop powder into the filter and close the machine’s lid.

“Well, your department is a bit different,” Sirius acknowledged as the machine beeped. “Chemistry is about formulas and reactions, and engineering is more about thinking in three dimensions in order to make something work. In order to teach that way of thinking, I have to make sure they’re actually thinking. Only way to do that, really, is have them talk.”

“I see,” Dr. Snape replied. Sirius thought that meant he was trying to be diplomatic instead of a snob, but he simply slid a hand into his pocket. He could only hope that soon the “coffee” would be ready.

“When is your first class, then?”

“It’s in an hour and a half.” Dr. Snape checked his phone. “Yes, I’ll be teaching the introductory course. Half of them will leave after this first class; they always do.”

“Half?”

“Yes,” Dr. Snape shrugged. “Unfortunately, some students only think about the more...dramatic parts of chemistry. The more rote basis of my subject tends to require certain aspects those students simply don’t have, such as precision and diligence.”

“Naturally,” Sirius nodded as if he wasn’t thinking  _ You’re one of those teachers who makes it boring on purpose _ .

“Well, I tolerate those attitudes for one day, and then they’re off doing English Literature or some such thing.”

“I’ve never understood English Literature,” Sirius laughed.

“I have very little reason to believe it needs to be understood,” Dr. Snape said with a wry smile. “Let people write, and let people read, but we know that science should take priority. Anyone can tell a story. I’ve seen children do the same kind of art that hangs in those hallowed halls of museums...a pity people waste their time on it.”

“Well, it takes all kinds of people to make the world interesting.” Sirius shrugged.

“Speaking of,” Dr. Snape looked at him more closely. “How did your meeting with Dr. Lupin go?”

“Well, the man is quite eccentric,” Sirius laughed, “but I found he was willing and happy to help. I’m bringing him my updated design today, before classes. I am glad you warned me, though. It helped me push past the...oddities, and find the information I needed.”

“I am pleased he could help you,” Dr. Snape looked almost in pain, but nodded briskly. “Naturally, there are several people that would be happy to look at your work.”

“I’m grateful,” Sirius said earnestly as the machine beeped once more, coffee pot filled with black liquid. “There are mugs in the box there. I haven’t fully unpacked, but they are clean.”

“Of course,” Dr. Snape said, and took two mugs. “Here we are.”

“Thank you,” Sirius said, and poured. “To happy work environments.”

“Cheers,” Dr. Snape said. Sirius sipped while Dr. Snape’s face scrunched up. He felt just a tad evil.

“Everything alright?” He tilted his head and drank again. Yes, it was vile, but he’d drank it before. He was very well acquainted with the taste.

“Yes, of course.” Dr. Snape put the mug on the desk. “Thank you, but I should be off. I have a class to prepare for.”

“You can take your coffee with you if you like,” Sirius invited. “Just get me the mug back by the end of today.”

“Oh, no thank you,” Dr. Snape cleared his throat. “I’m not really a coffee person, I just didn’t want to be rude.”

“Of course. More for me, then. Ta, Dr. Snape.” He toasted the other man, again dressed all in black, and drank again.

“Yes, thank you. Good-bye.” He left quickly, and Sirius was able to hold in his laughter for a mere thirty seconds, until he was able to close his door. Once he’d finished laughing, he went back to organizing his books.

The first day of classes looked to be remarkably entertaining, and it had only just begun.

*

“Yes, I think that your design should work quite well,” Remus was saying.

“Really?” Sirius almost couldn’t believe it.

“Yes,” the historian said with a chuckle. “I would make some minor changes, though. The inside of the machine is perfectly fine, because likely the user wouldn’t be interacting with it.”

“No, it would need to either be repaired at a store or replaced.” Sirius agreed.

“So on the outside, I think there needs to be more of a distinction between the stitch width and the stitch length regulators. One should be bigger than the other, or perhaps label one as ‘L’ and the other as ‘W’ with braille, or even with lines; you could use a thin, vertical line for length and a thick, blocky line for width.”

“That would be good, yes,” Sirius nodded, “A blind person wouldn’t necessarily know that the stitch width would customarily be on the top.”

“Exactly,” Remus grinned. “Other than that, it’s really the bobbin area that needs to be more defined. I know traditionally it’s a small area, but as someone blind would be using their fingers to feel their way to use it, you may want to make it bigger so that the opening for the bobbin housing doesn’t feel the same as the feed dogs.”

“Yes, that would work. What if I had the bobbin housing open on the side instead of the top? I thought combining it with the feed dogs and such would make it easier, but perhaps it should be separate from them.”

“It might be fine for someone trying to make it smaller or lighter, but for the convenience factor, which is the most important, I would agree that would be better.”

“I’ll make those changes and draw it up; we’ll see how it feels to you.”

“I’m excited to see it,” Remus smiled. Sirius couldn’t help it--the man simply had a gorgeous smile. Now that their horrid first meeting was out of the way, Sirius wanted to get to know Remus better.

“Would you want to get lunch with me?” Sirius asked.

“I’d like that,” Remus said. “You can update me on what you did to Snivillus.”

“Snivillus?” Sirius laughed. “That’s a fantastic nickname for him. It’s a great story, and he was even more of a prat than I expected.”

“He’ll surprise you forever in that regard.” Remus laughed. “I just wish he hadn’t hurt Lily the way he did.”

“He knew Lily?” Sirius was shocked. “How?”

“Didn’t James ever tell you about Lily’s stalker from med school?” Remus frowned.

“That was  _ him _ ?”

“Yes, that was him.” Remus licked his lips. “I was usually there when he walked up to her. He completely ignored me, but that’s another story. In any case, he was quite out of line.”

“That makes me wish I had added more activated charcoal.”

“Activated charcoal?”

“I’ll tell you over lunch if you give me the full story with what happened to Lily. I want to make sure it never happens again.”

“It’s a date,” Remus told him.

“Yes,” Sirius grinned. “Yes it is.”

**Author's Note:**

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